Tubular fire escape



Feb. 12 1924. 1 1,483,249

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ARTHUR H. STURGES, OMAHA, NEBRASKA.

means to prevent the openin who is capable insane TUBULAR, FIRE ESCAPE.

Application filed October 15, 1923. Serial No. 668,703. 1

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ARTHUR H. STUnoEs, a citizen of the United States,residing at Omaha, in the county. of Douglas and State of Nebraska, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Tubular Fire Escapes, ofwhich the following is a specification.

The present invention relates to fire escapes, and particularly to afire escape of the tubular type.

The present application is a companion to the application Serial No.668,704, filed by the present applicant of even date herewith andentitled Doors for tubular fire escapes.

An object of the present invention is to provide a fire escape with anovel construction of entrance which may be closed when not in use, andwhich at the same time will comply with the various fire regulations andlaws of the several States.

Another object is to provide a tubular fire escape with improved meansfor assisting persons into the tube proper, and which means is adaptedfor use with persons of various sizes.

A further object of the invention is to provide a fire escape withclosure doors at its entrance opening which efiectually close theopening against drafts and which have of the doors either from withinthe tubu ar member or from the exterior of the tubular member, and whichat the same time provides operating means for releasing the doors from aposition within the building, and without requiring any special meanssuch as keys, tools or the like andwhich may be actuated with ease attimes of excitement, such as during a fire, and may be operated eventhough persons may be jammed against and about the exit opening.

The invention further aims, in a tubular fire escape, at an improvedlocking means which is simple in construction, which is visible at alltimes and is fool proof and which may be easily operated by any one ofreaching to the desired height to grasp the operating lever.

A further object of the invention is to provide a tubular fire escapewith means whereby rain, water, snow and the like cannot enter theinterior of the tube through its several joints and cannotgain access tothe working parts of the dev ce.

The present device is ada ted particularly for installation upon schoo's and like buildings for the protection of the children against fire andto insure the rapid and easy exit of the children in case of danger offire, and to also provide a device which may be safely used as anamusement for the children during fire drills to thus benefit from thepoint of interest and amusement as well as protection and to increasethe interest of the children in their studies and other duties incidentto their attendance at school.

A still further object of the invention is to provide an improved.support for a tubular fire escape for maintaining it at an inclinationof substantially 30 degrees to the horizontal or ground line as thisinclination has been found by actual experimentation to be mostdesirable as it prevents the persons usingthe fire escape from movingtoo rapidly through the tube and at the same time empties the tube asrapidly as possible with due care to prevent jamming or clogging of thetube during use.

A still further and important feature of the invention is to provide atubular fire escape with an entrance section adapted to receive personsone at a time and to so dispose and mount a bar in the upper portion ofthe entrance and intermediate the sides thereof, said bar being slopedinto the entrance opehing and downwardly for accommodating persons ofdifferent heights and for facilitating the advancement of the persons inthe tube without unnecessary delay in properly adjusting themselves forthe descent.

With the foregoing and other-objects in view, the invention will be morefully described hereinafter, and will'be more particularly pointed outin the claims appended hereto.

In the drawings, wherein like symbols refer to like or correspondingparts throughout the several views,

Figure 1 is a side section, of a tubular fire escape constructedaccording to the present invention and as applied to the wall of abuilding, the full lines showing the device arran ed rectilinearly, andthe dotted lines s owing the direction in whichthe tube may be curved.

Figure 2 is a detail side elevation of the door releasing lever at theentrance opening of the tube.

elevation, partly in I Figure 3 is a front elevation of the same. Figure4 is a rear elevation thereof. Figure 5 is an edge view of a bracketplate for supporting said releasing lever. Figure 6 is a front View ofthe same.

Figure 7 is a rear elevation of the bracket- Figure 13 is a detail frontelevation of a pair of doors which may be used for closing the entrancesection.

Figure 14: is a transverse section taken horizontall through the same onthe line 1414- of *igure 13.

Figure 15 is a plan view of a metal threshold which is used at thebottom of the doors.

Figure 16 is an edge view taken at one end of the threshold.

Figure 17 is a transverse section through the threshold on the line 17-17 of F igure 15.

Figure 18 is a detail enlarged view of one of the upper hinge bolts ofthe doors.

Figure 19 is av fragmentary top plan view of the reinforcing frame witha door mounted therein and showin the attachment of the spring fornormally urging the adjacent door to open.

Figure 20 is an inner side elevation of a wooden frame for mounting inthe wall to support the reinforcing. frame or Figure 8.

Figure 21 is a vertical transverse section through the frame mounted inthe wail.

Figure 22 is a front elevation of the. entrance to the fire escape, withthe doors closed and showing the adjacent floor structure in section.

Figure 23 is a detaii top plan view of the entrance portion of the fireescape, showing the support and mounting for the door opening lever andthe hand raii or guide and adjacent parts.

Figure 24 is plan view of a coupling ring employed between the sectionsof the fire escape.

Figure 25 is a transverse section tir the same taken on the line o" ure24. k

Figure 26 is a fragmentary end-sieve.- tion of the lower portion of thefire escape as mounted against the wail. I

Figure 27 is a detail side eievation, partly masses in section, ofadjacent sections or portions of the fire escape in position to beclamped together, and.

Figure 28 is a side elevation of a building having a fire escapeconstructed according to the present invention applied thereto, the fireescape being slightly mod ified by the inclusion of an elbow in theupper end thereof to impart a substantially right angular turn to thetube. The tubular fire escape of this invention is adapted to be mountedexteriorly of a building and to lead from a window, a door or othersuitable opening formed in the side wall of the building at a pointabove the ground.

According to the present embodiment, the fire escape is provided with anupper or entrance section 30 which preferably flares from its lowercircular end into a vertically enlarged rectangular opening, and theenlarged upper end of the section 30 is adapted to fit into an opening31 formed through the wall 32 of the building. The section 30 at itsupper end is reinforced by a frame 33 which is preferably of angle ironcross section as shown in Figures 8 to 11, and which has the bottom rail34 thereof turned reversely to the major portion of the frame so as toengage over a cross bar 35 which is mounted in the opening 31. The frame33 is provided at opposite sides with pairs of attaching ears 36 and theframe 33, which is preferably of metal, is fitted into a wooden frame37, shown in Figure 20 and this wooden frame 37 is built into theopening 31 of the wall 32.

The side rails of the frame 37 are provid ed at suitable intervals withnotches 38 to receive the ears 36. The car's have suitable openingstherethrough for the reception of screws or other attaching devices tosecure the metal frame 33 within the wooden frame 37.

The top portion of the wooden frame 37 forms a lintel 39 adapted tosupport the adjacent row or rows of bricks in the wali. and shingles 40or the like may be packed into the opening 31 of the wall about theframe 37 to properly plumb or line up the frame to support the entrancesection 30 of the fire escape. Themetal frame 33 is substantially of thesize of the entrance opening and is adapted to carry a pair-of doors andeach door 4.1 is provided, as shown in Figures 12, 18 and 19 with ahinge bolt or pin -12 secured at its lower end to a hraci-ict plate 43which is screwed or otherwise su tably secured to the edge of the door41.

The pin at? extends upwardly from the door i-l and through a suitableopening in the top rail of the frame 33. The upper end of the pin 42 hasa longitiuiinal slot 1-4 oxtcniilinu' transversely through the pin. andthe latter is ertternaily threaded at its upper end in iaeaaae receive anut 45. A coil spring 46 is placed about the upper end of the pin 42 andhas a looped end 47 fitted in the slot 44 and held therein by the nut45. The lower end of the spring 46 has anarm 48 which is arranged toextend across the top rail of the frame 33 and provided with a dependingfinger 49 adapted to project downwardly against the remote side of theframe. The spring 46 is arranged to normally urge the doors 41-into openposition. The doors may be held closed by av lever 50 which is ofangular formation as shown in Figures 1 to 4 and which is mounted in abracket plate 51 secured in front of the frame 33 and which has averti-- end with an arm 55 to which one end of 'a spring 56 is attached,the other end of the spring being secured by a bolt 57 or the like tothe top of the entrance section 30 for normally drawing the lever 50into upright position. 'The inwardly projecting end'of the lever isprovided with a downwardly extending arm 58 which has a T- head 59 inthe opposite branches of which are mounted set screws 60 one for eachdoor 41, the set screws being adapted to engage, adjustably against theouter sides of the doors to hold them closed against the tension oftheir springs 46. The upper end of the lever 50is forked as at 61 tostraddle a slide bar 62 which has one end mounted in a socket 63 formedupon the upper end of the bracket plate 51, the slide bar 62 beingcurved downwardly and projecting into the receiving section 30.

The bracket plate 51 is mounted intermediately over the frame 33 so asto be substantially over the central portion thereof and to dispose theT-head 59 across the space between the doors 41, and the rail 62 is alsopositioned intermediately of the door opening and is adapted to passthrou h complemental notches 64 formed in t e adjacent edges of thedoors 41. Flexible packing strips 65 are preferably carried upon thedoors and suitably notched to snugly engage against the opposite sidesof the rail 62, the packing strips 65 being relatively flexible andadapted to give or bend as the doors are swung into open and closedpositions The rail 62 is supported at its inner end upon a bolt 66 orthe like which extends inwardly through the top of the receiving section30. A reinforcing strip 67 of relatively heavy metal, or the like, issecured along theu per side of the receiving section 30 and is adhptedto receive the bolt 66 therethrou h. This strip 67' is adapted toreinforce t e receiving section and support not only the same but alsothe hand rail 62 and adjacent parts.

The bracket plate 51 is provided upon its front face with a pair ofspaced apertured ears 68 adapted to receive a transverse pin 69therethrough, the pin being adapted to engage across the front of theopening lever 50 so as to prevent the same, as shown in Figure 2, frombeing swung downwardly to release the doors 41. The spring 56 and theadjacent parts are arranged between the top rail 39 of the wooden frameand the top wall of the receiving section 30, sufficient space beingprovided therefor as shown in Fi ure 1.

The parts are further enclosed by a cover board 70 which is fittedbetween the section 30 and the top rail 39, and which is arran ed behindrows of bricks 71 which may be lled in or built up between the top ofthe opening 31 in the 'wall and the top of the receiving section 30.

At the bottom of the metal frame 33 is mounted a metallic threshold 72comprising a flat plate as shown in Figures 15, 16 and 17 witha,relatively long connecting strip 73 at its inner edge, the strip 73being adapted to seat upon the bottom rail 34 of the metallic frame.This strip 73 has at opposite ends depressions or sockets 74 forreceiving the lower ends of pivot pins 75 carried by means of brackets76 upon the lower corners of the doors 41. These pins 75 are thereforeadapted to support the weight of the doors as well as to anchor thelower corners thereof from swinging out of line with the top bolts 42.

As shown particularly in Figures 1, 21 and 22, the wall 32 has in itsopening 31 a joist stringer 77 which abuts the ends of the joists 78 forsupporting sub-flooring 79 upon which the finished flooring 80 isplaced. The threshold 72 sets upon the finished flooring 80 and projectsinto the frame 33. As shown in Figure 22 the base board 81 extends up tothe wooden frame 37 and side casings 82 are bolted or otherwise suitablyfastened to the frame 37 and provided with a, cap 83 which extendsacross the upper portion of the frame 37 and encloses the' chamberbetween the wooden frame and the top of the entrance section 30 as shownin F'gure 1, and also serves as a support for the bracketplate 51. Thejoists 78 support laths 84 to which finished plaster 85 is se cured,this construction prevailing not only in the ceiling as shown in Figure2, but also in the side walls about the wooden frame 37 The term woodenframe has been used to contradistinguish the outer frame from the innerframe 33 and it is to be understood that this frame 37 may be of metalor of other suitable material to comply with vari ous building and fireregulations.

The lower rounded end of the receiving section 30 is welded, ormerges,into a flat ring 86 which is provided with an attaching band 87 suitablysecured upon the outer side of the ring 86 by welding or any othersuitable method. The attaching band 87 has an outstanding aperturedflange 88 through which clamping bolts 89 are secured for connecting thevarious sections of the fire escape together.

As shown particularly in Figure 27, the body portion of the fire escapeis composed of any desired number of tubular straight sections 90 whichare upset at opposite ends to form out-turned flanges 91 behind whichare seated annular bands or rings 92 having out-turned flanges 93 whichcorrespond to the flange 88 of the entrance section 30. Theflanges 93are also apertured to receive the clampingbolt 89 therethrough, and whenthe bolts are drawn taut the outstanding flanges 93 and 88 are drawntogether and clamp and compress the'adjacent ends of the sectionstogether for sealing them. Any suitable asbestos or other fire proof andsealing cement may be packed into the joints between the flanges 93 and88 for the purpose of excluding rain water and other accumulations whichtend to rust out the joints and which would otherwise seep into theinterior of the fire escape.

As shown in Figure 28, where it is necessary to turn the fire escapeinto substantially parallel relation with a wall so as to lie close tothe wall for economy in space and also to obtain support from the wall,

.an elbow 94 is used which is built up of segmental sections, as iscommon in pipe construction, and the elbow or curved section 94 isprovided with the clamping bands and flanges in the same manner as arethe body sections 90 of the fire escape.

The fireescape is provided at its lower end with an exit or landingsection 95 the major portion of which is tubular and adapted to besupported in a horizontal position upon a suitable base 96 of concreteor the like and which is reinforced at its open end by a channel ring 97The exit section 95 at its inner end is provided with a pair of anglesections 98 and 99 which are seamed together and to the inner end cf thebody of the exit section. and which have their lower walls 100 and 101consecutively extending at increasing angles from the bottom of theinclining fire escape body portion into the horizontal exit section 95.It will be noted that the exit section 95 is of greater height than thebody portion of the fire escape and therefore is substantially oval incross section with the major axis extending vertically. The upper walls102 and 103 of the angle sections 99 and 98 are diverged relatively tothe lower walls 100 and 101 so as to merge the angle masses sections 99and 98 gradually into the exit section 95.

The lower end of the entrance section 30 is preferably supported againstthe wall 32, and for this purpose a brace 104: is attached to a lowerbolt 89 and the brace has a turn buckle 105'therein by means of whichthe brace may be extended and contracted. The brace has a foot piece 106which bears against the outer face of the wall 32 and which has a spur107 adapted to engage between adjacent layers of brick as shown inFigure 1 to hold the foot piece 106 from slipping downwardly against thewall.

The turn buckle 105 may be adjusted so as to bring the spur 107 intoregistry with a crevice in the wall, and the turn buckle may then befurther adjusted for expanding the brace and binding the same betweenthe wall and the lower end of the entrance section 30, to rigidlysupport the latter.

As shown in Figures 1 and 26, the body portion of the fire escape may besupported upon an adjoining wall 108 which extends at right angles tothe wall 32 by a. bracket including a hanger strap 109 secured at itsupper end upon a bolt 110 which is mounted in the wall 108 with its headinnermost and an anchoring plate 111 on the bolt 110 against the headthereof. The lower end of the hanger 109 is connected to a compressionmember 112, which may be of any suitable construction to impart strengthto the mem her 112, by a bolt 113 which passes through downturnedflanges 114 and 115 carried re spectively by the hanger strap 109 andthe compression member 112. The bolt 113 also.

receives thereon out-turned ears 116 which form the ends of a split ring117 which is fitted about the body portion of the fire escape forsuspending the latter from the bracket. The com ression member 112 has afoot flan e 118 WlllCh bears against the outer face of the wall 108 andwhich is held from sliding thereon by a lag screw 119 or the like, asbut little resistance is offered by the compression member.

Of course various other devices than as shown may be incorporated in thewall structure and associated with the parts of the fire escape, such asa lintel 120 arranged over the top of the entrance section 30 forsupporting the outer rows or layers of brick or the like which form apart of the wall 32 and which may be fitted in place after the fireescape has been installed From the foregoing it is thought that the themotion being a natural one so that when persons are in a crowded andexcited condition of mind any movement of the lever 50 will tend towardthe release of the doors e1 by the head 59 of the lever 50, whichprojects downwardly in backofthe doorsto normally hold them closed bythe spring 56 against the tension of the door springs 46. This head 59is relatively short and is moved upwardly in a slot 122 in the top ofthe entrance section 30 so as to clear the upper edges of the doors 41.The head 59 of the operating lever may be adjusted, by means of its setscrews 60 to bind against the doors and take care of inequalities of theinstallation of the doors and other parts about the fire escape so as toinsure the proper closing of the doors when the same are not in use.

When the lever 50 is, therefore, drawn down at its outer end the doors41 are freed, and the springs 46 of the doors swing the same into openposition as shown in Figure 1. The persons may now grasp the centralhand rail 62 and swing themselves forwardly into the entrance section 30and into a sitting posture and thus slide down through the tube orchute. As the hand rail 62 is inclined downwardly as shown in.

Figure 1, the rail may be readily grasped by large and small persons,such as by children of different sizes when leaving a school room or thelike, and the inclination is such that the persons may readilyaccommodate themselves to the tube from different portions of the handrail depending on the height of the person.

The sections 99 and 98 at the bottom of the fire escape graduallydecrease the angle of inclination and thus automatically and graduallybring the persons into a state of rest in the exit opening. Thisprevents any violent precipitation of the persons from the end of thetube which would result in injury, particularly to small children.

I do not wish to be restricted to the size, form, and proportions of thevarious parts, and obviously changes could be made in the constructionherein described without departing from the spirit of the invention, itbeing only necessary that such changes fallwithin the scope of thefollowing claims.

What is claimed is 1. In a fire escape, a body portion adapted to bemounted at an opening in a building, a pair of doors hinged at oppositesides of the opening and arranged to swing into the body portion of thefire escape, and a bar disposed substantially in alinement with theentrance to the fire escape and projecting through said doors, said barbeing supported at one end above the doors and at its other end havingconnection with said body portion beyond the doors.

2. In a tubular fire escape, an entrance section adapted to be securedto a building at an outlet thereof, a door normally closing said outlet,and a hand rail arranged centrally in the upper part of the outlet andextending through said door, said door having an opening therethroughfor the passage of said hand rail and the opening extending through theedge of the door whereby the latter may be opened and closed withoutinterference from the hand rail.

3. In a tubular fire escape, an entrance section adapted to be securedto the wall of a building at an outlet, a pair of doors closing saidsection, releasable means for holding said doors closed, and a hand railarranged centrally in the upper part of said entrance section andinclined outwardly and downwardly from the wall of the building, saiddoors having recesses in their free edges for the passage of the handrail therethrough and to permit of the operation of the doors withoutinterference from the hand rail.

4. In a tubular fire escape, an entrance section adapted to be securedto a building at an outlet thereof, a pair of 'doors hinged at oppositesides of the entrance section and normally urged into open position, areleasable retaining lever adapted for normal engagement with said doorsto hold the same closed, a hand rail extending downwardly from a pointabove the entrance section and being curved into the section andinclining downwardly therein for grasping by persons entering the fireescape, said doors having slots in the free edges thereof through whichthe hand rail is adapted to extend, a flexible sealing device carried bythe doors and extending over said slots for yieldingly binding about thehand rail to seal the opening thereabout in the doors.

5. In a tubular fire escape, an entrance section adapted to be securedto a wall at an outlet thereof, a pair of doors hinged to the entrancesection, springs connected to said doors for normally swinging the sameoutwardly into the entrance section, a spring pressed lever pivoted overthe entrance section with an angle portion at the inner side of the walland having a heel portion arranged to engage against the outer sides ofthe doors for maintaining the same closed, means for releasably lockingsaid lever from swinging into releasing position, and a hand railmounted in the entrance section extending inwardly through the wall andthrough the doors and being curved upwardly toward said lever.

6. In a tubular fire escape, an entrance section adapted to be mountedthrough an opening in a wall, a pair of doors hinged in the oppositesides of the section, springs connected to the doors for normallyswinging the same into open position, a bracket plate arranged above theentrance section and centrally thereof, a lever pivoted in the bracketplate with an angle portion extending inwardly from the wall and havinga heel portion extending outwardly and downwardly for engagement withthe outer sides of said doors to hold the same closed, a spring mountedon said section and connected to said lever for normally holding thesame against said doors, said bracket plate having a pair of outstandingapertured lugs at opposite sides of the hand portion of said leven aremovable pin carried in said lugs for locking the lever againstswinging movement, and a hand rail secured at one end of said bracketplate and being curved downwardly into said entrance section andextending centrally into the upper portion thereof and divergingupwardly from the bottom wall of said section.

In testimony whereof, I have afiixed my signature in presence of twowitnesses.

ARTHUR H. srunons.

Witnesses RUTH E. ANDnRsEN, CHAs. E. FOSTER.

